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The Education for Seapower (E4S) study was a clean-sheet review of naval learning and focused on flagship institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School, and Naval and Marine War Colleges, along with a fresh look at the relationships with civilian academic institutions and corporate learning structures. The study team developed a series of observations and recommendations for continuous learning throughout the naval services. (U.S. Navy graphic by Kirsten M. Sisson/Released)

Department of the Navy announces new education initiatives

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of the Navy (DoN) released its Education for Seapower report Feb. 12, along with the Secretary of the Navy’s action memorandum providing the way forward for the new education initiatives for the department.

The Education for Seapower study was a clean-sheet review of naval learning and focused on flagship institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School, and Naval and Marine War Colleges, along with a fresh look at the relationships with civilian academic institutions and corporate learning structures.

“I am convinced, now more than ever before that the intellectual development of our naval leaders is the most critical warfighting capability for our national security,” said the Secretary of the Navy, Richard V. Spencer. “That is why the Department of the Navy intends to create a Naval University System that further integrates and aligns naval education to the need of the enterprise.”

Highlights from the memorandum include a new Secretary of the Navy staff assistant, Chief Learning Officer for naval education, intent to establish a Naval Community College with universal transcripts so enlisted Sailors and Marines can soon earn accredited associate’s degrees in technology-rich fields, and a new Naval University System that retains the strengths of current educational institutions, while aligning strategic intent in order to provide increased agility. While the Department of the Navy is enacting these changes, many initiatives within them will, over the next year, be evaluated for their efficacy before being fully implemented.

“Any success we may enjoy in the future will be enabled by an ever-more-agile force – led by agile people who thirst for knowledge and who are adept at thinking, learning, and processing information quickly,” said Under Secretary of the Navy, Thomas B. Modly. “The development of such a force does not happen by accident. It must be constantly cultivated through a renewed emphasis on education, and the deliberate construction of a learning culture across the entire naval service.”